>> al: fabulous way to end the season and comes down to that. "sunday night football," dallas/washington. the winner going to the playoffs as the nfc east champion and hosting the game. and if dallas loses, they are out. if washington loses, they still have a shot. some other things would have to happen earlier in the day. but it's dallas and washington with the nfc east title at stake on "sunday night football" next week. seahawks expecting an onside kick. leon washington down to the end zone. after the game, the wendy's postgame report on the field with michele and bob and tony break down the game and cris and i take a look at a butte next

week, cowboys and redskins. >> cris: >> referee: no penalty on the play. first down. >> al: thank god! >> cris: and all he has done. washington, alfred morris is one of the top running teams in the nfl behind him. jim haslett after losing so many star defensive players early in the year, seemed to piece it all back together and a change for the seahawks now. >> al: wilson is done for the night and matt flynn will finish it up here. he will take us to the finish line. flynn who was signed to that big contract and looked to the world that he would be the man. russell wilson just simply flat out won the job and has been the starter since the opener. >> cris: yeah, and he won it because of game altering plays. his gap plays, as russell wilson likes to call these things, and he has been sensational with them tonight. he had one turnover on a big play, but third down conversions, 11 of 12.

red zone, 4 for 4. and that's a rookie. >> al: turnover on a tipped pass. in seven games in this stadium this season, he has thrown two interceptions. >> cris: he's something now. >> al: oh, yeah. >> cris: it was funny talking to pete about him. he said people warned me when i met him at the senior bowl, he goes, now, you know, be careful because you'll think he is one of those artists, you know, that can kind of trick you and fool y you, but he has lived up to it on an everyday basis and nobody works harder in the building and pete carroll is his biggest fan, no question. >> al: this team has drafted extremely well and made a lot of great choices. thorough a major big-time role right now. and everything is lining up perfectly for the seattle seahawks. as we said at the very beginning, you might hear a lot from either of these teams, despite what happened to san francisco tonight over the next

few weeks. seahawks win it by a score of 42-13 and seattle is in the playoffs. wendy's postgame report will be coming right up after these messages from your local nbc station. .

seahawks 10-56 and won their last three games by an average of 40 points. russell wilson threw only 21 times tonight, completed 13, but four of those were for touchdowns so he is one of the players infant game. richard sherman, an interception, five tackles and a 90-yard return of a blocked field goal for a touchdown. nice night for him. marshawn lynch, 26 carries, 111 yards. he is kind of the j.d. sallinger of the national football league and doesn't do interviews we have to guess as to his thoughts. michele will speak with wilson and sherman and here she is. >> michele: russell, you clenched a playoff berth and still alive in the division hunt. what did it mean for this team to get back to the playoffs? >> unbelievable. we have had a great year so far and one step. we have to keep moving forwards and a lot more to look forward to and big game next week against the rams and have to play a great game. >> michele: you guys have had 150 points in your last three games! four touchdowns for you tonight. how sdo you explain this offensive explosion?

>> it's coming together. i think my experience and just learning and offensive line doing a tremendous, tremendous job. receivers making great plays, tight ends and rbs and marshawn lynch and robert coming in to be a change-up. the coaching staff doing a great job of calling great plays when we need them. >> michele: this kroed is notorious for being the 12th man. what kind of impact to you think the fans and noise had on this gauge? >> the fans love us so much and bring so much energy to our football team and keep us in the game, obviously, and keep us alert. >> michele: congratulations on the win, russell. >> thank you. go hawks! richard sherman, what a night 37 blocked field goal attempt and ran it back for a touchdown and interception in the second half that was huge. how do you explain your big performance? >> i have great teammates and great coaches that kept us. they did a great job. game planning and i took advantage of my opportunities. >> michele: pete carroll is known for the way he coaches defense backs and you guys were

thin tonight in the secondary. how did he get so much out of you in spite of that? >> we have amazing depth. byron maxwell and jeremy lane, they are great players and they could be starters in this league. they stepped up to the task and up to the task and stepped newspaper a big way tonight and played big for us. >> michele: i know you can't get into details but on friday, you appealed your four-game suspension for violating the league policy on performance-enhancing drugs. but how optimistic are you that you're going to be with this team playing next week and beyond? >> i'm incredibly optimistic. they broke rules you can't break and unless they just say they can break rules and suspend me, then we should be fine. >> michele: congratulations on the playoff berth. >> thank you very much. >> michele: bob? >> we will have to wait and see on that. his explanation a little vague. in the meantime, the nfl has announced next week's schedule with the nfc east title game. the cowboys at the redskins on sunday night football here on nbc. let's take a look at the afc

games. the texans at the colts at 1:00 eastern on cbs, has major seeding implications. all of the nfc games will be on fox. highlighted by the packers at vikings at 4:25 eastern, a game with playoff implications for both teams. you are taking a look here at the afc playoff picture. we got ourselves a little bit out of sync here but tony dungy will set us straight. the afc circumstances now, how do you see it? >> well, really some big, big games in the afc and it really starts at the top. houston, number one seed, but they have got to go to indianapolis, bob, a place where they have never won. if they don't win, you've got the opportunity for denver and also for new england to pass them. so huge, huge games at the top of the afc race and, you know, it's really makes for a big week

17. >> packers/vikings is a game in the nfc has playoff implications. what are your thoughts on that? >> yes. that becomes a huge game also with the win tonight by seattle, that has vaulted the packers over the top of -- over top of san francisco and they have got to win this game against minnesota to keep that position. and minnesota had a chance in that first game. we saw an interception by christian ponder. that really turned the game around. minnesota is in a win or in situation. so it becomes a huge, huge game for them also. and minnesota playing in front of that home crowd. we saw what the home crowd in seattle did tonight. >> tony, thanks a lot. apologize for the confusion there at the top. i trust you have access either through your newspapers or various other outlets all you folks out there to sort out what all the possible playoff implications are. one thing we want to reiterate the game next sunday night here on nbc will be dallas at

washington for the nfc east championship. we turn now to mike florio of pro football talk. mike, take us through some of the day's most important injuries, please. >> bob, texans running back arian foster left today what was called an illness at the time. after the game coach kubiak said foster had irregular heartbeat and second time it's happened but they say the foster will be fine. anquan bolder injured his shoulder over the new york giants for the chicago bears running back matt forte injured an ankle he injured earlier this year and in a walking boot after the win over the cardinals. right ankle injury. randall cobb jushed his ankle and i'm told x-rays taken after the game were negative and he'll have mri on monday and could be available for week 17 against the vikings and should be available for the postseason. >> okay, mike, thanks. tune into "pro football talk" every weekend at 5:00 p.m. on

the nbc sports network. the seahawks 42 and the 49ers 13. al and cris back to wrap things up from seattle after this. . no. wendy's mozzarella chicken supreme. crisp chicken, lots of mozzarella, and a rich parmesan sauce. making tastes that make the season. that's wendy's way. now that's better. get a $10 toys-r-us gift card offer when you purchase a kid's meal. see offer for details. my son loves the apps and movies. but my daughter? vampire books. sharing... whooh forget it! with our walmart credit card -- special financing, we can get two. the kids are happy. my shopping's done. our budget -- under control. now, let's go. i knew that. right. umph, i love that woman. [ male announcer ] get the seasons hottest brands, like nook hd and hd+.

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[ male announcer ] at&t. the nation's largest 4g network. covering 3,000 more 4g cities and towns than verizon. rethink possible. >> al: one final game afc playoff picture. the six teams are in, period. nobody is left in the hunt. the question becomes who gets the two byes. right now houston and denver, 1-2. obviously, if they both win next week, they stay 1-2. new england, though, has a chance if houston loses to vault past them because they won the head-to-head game. baltimore clenched the afc north. indianapolis and cincinnati are the wild cards. that's pretty simple. now in the nfc, it's a little different here. atlanta has clenched home field throughout. green bay moves into the second seat at the moment. if they win at minnesota next week, they remain second and get

a bye. san francisco needs a win to clench the division and a green bay loss to get back to the second spot. washington/dallas winner next week wins the nfc east. dallas, if they lose, cannot get to the playoffs. washington still has a chance. seattle is already in. and minnesota can clench it with a win next week against green bay. there you have it are the teams minutalimally in the hunt. >> cris: wow. that was good. i'm impressed! >> al: whatever. i took fourth grade math. we do washington and dallas next week. last year we were able to end the season with dallas and a win and lose/out scenario. not quite that but still a huge game next week. the redskins, as hot as you can get, six wins in a row. dallas losing a heartbreaker today after coming from behind to send the game into overtime and it's going to be crazy next week in d.c. >> cris: can you imagine the dallas cowboys, the emotions of this day going from losing that game you thought you had to win

and now, all of a sudden, you're back in, a winner take all next week? the question is, you know, can they keep it going on the offensive side? dez bryant and tony romo, those guys have been red hot. defensively a lot of injuries on that side of the ball so a great matchup next week. >> al: rg3 next week and wrap it up at the end of the season with "sunday night football" with dallas at washington. all starts with "football night in america" beginning at 7:00 eastern and 4:00 pacific here on nbc. until then, al michaels, cris collinsworth, michele tafoya our whole gang led by fred gand goo night from seattle. .

news4 at 11:00 starts now. fans celebrating tonight and anticipating next week's big game. good evening, everyone. rg-3 making his return today, leading the skins to their sixth consecutive victory. sounds pretty good. jason is here with more on today's big game. >> it was a huge game. a great win for the skins. philly, they've pretty much given up on the season, but you knew they were going to be tough

in philadelphia. after a huge win today, the redskins will host the cowboys in a primetime matchup next sunday on nbc 4. they currently have the second longest winning streak in the nfl. six straight victories for the team that stands atop the division. robertriffin iii was back under center and he impressive play continued. rg-3 picking up where he left off for the redskins. in the second quarter, eagles up 7-6. griffin with a swing past to josh morgan and morgan finds his way to the end zone. 11-yard touchdown. redskins take the lead 13-7. third quarter now, skins up 20-13. griffin lost this one to santana moss. he brings it in for the touchdown. drags that foot. two scores on the day for griffin. redskins up 27-13 at this point. ten seconds to go, eagles within a score. nick foles buying some time, but gets pressured, intentional

grounding was called. that was a ten-second runoff. redskins hold on for the victory 27-20. >> we were playing the best ball that we have all year at the right time. we're rolling and we all know that. it's been a change in our mindset since after the bye week. i think everybody is just dialed in now. we know we can win any kind of game we have to whether it's high or low scoring game. it just feels good to be in this position and we've controlled our own destiny since we were 3-6 and we control it to next week. >> as i just mentioned, the game between the cowboys and the redskins will be the feature matchup for "sunday night football." tune in here for a special version of news4 at 6:00, followed by "redskins showdown." highlights and postgame reaction at news4 at 11:00. coming up later in sports, more on the big victory in philly, and highlights from the cowboys and giants game.

this was a great nfl wmd, especially if you're a redskins' fan. >> and a great weekend next weekend. also new tonight, a veteran u.s. senator is apologizing tonight after a dui arrest in northern virginia. alexander police confirmed to new news4 they arrested senator michael crepo. he failed a series of field sobriety tests and arrested without incident. in a statement, the senator apologized to his family and constituents and says he'll take steps to make sure it doesn't happen again. he's a member of the bipartisan so-called gang of eight that tried to negotiate a deal to avoid the fiscal cliff. he's due in court january 4. mitt romney's son is making news after an interview he gave to "the boston globe" this weekend. tag romney, who played a major role in the campaign said "he wanted to be president less than anyone i've met in my life."

he also said his dad had no desire to run again after falling short in 2008. but was pushed into it by a weak republican field. to the weather now. meteorologist chuck bell is here, talking about some rain for christmas eve. chuck, is it going to be all rain or will some of it be of the frozen variety? >> jim, that is the $64,000 question. i think most locations, especially north and west of i-95, will see at least some small amount of sleet. the steadier sleet will be well out to the north and west, in the mountains of west virginia. the moisture is coming out of the deep south and it's reached as far north as the kentucky and north carolina and tennessee boarders with virginia. this is all inbound rain. it's not going to get here any time too soon. temperatures, which are already dropping quickly, will be back down below freezing for many spots early in the morning. so a cold start, cold and dry. rain, probably mixed in with

some sleet. so we'll keep a close eye on this. the good news is it doesn't look like we'll get a lot of anything. that is welcome news. but it's also going to be a busy week weather wise. we'll talk about that with the seven day in just a few. now to the gun control debate. the ceo of the national rifle association appeared today on "meet the press" and doubled down on his support forearmed guards in every school. >> reporter: a small but vocal group of gun control advocates protest outside the nova firearms gun shop in falls church. reverend jim burch led the charge for a ban on assault styles we pops and for more funding for mental health programs. >> to kill innocent people is immoral. for the rest of us, to allow it to go on is complicit. >> reporter: the owner of the gun store said he didn't

understand why protesters were outside his shop but acknowledged it's protected speech. >> they're exercising their first amendment rights and we're here exercising our second amendment rights. >> reporter: in an interview on "meet the press" the head of the nra reiterated his calls forearmed guards in schools across the nation. >> fit's crazy to call for putting police and armed security in our school to protect our children, then call me crazy. >> reporter: one of the falls church protesters is a resent high school graduate. she disagrees with having armed personnel in schools. >> i would not have felt safer. i think i would have felt more in harm's way. i don't agree with guns in general. >> reporter: pratt put some of the blame on adam lanza's mother. >> i think if the mother would have survived, she would have been held accountable for allowing those firearms to be accessed by somebody that was mentally instable.

>> reporter: the owner of the shop says this was the first time there was ever a demonstration outside of his business. in falls church, darcy spencer, news4. the second victim of a shooting in northeast washington has now died. police say 69-year-old nethannial beasley jr. died. the shooting also killed 44-year-old raymond harris. police are offering a $25,000 reward for information that helps them solve the case. an investigator is under way into the apparent suicide of a navy s.e.a.l. commander in afghanistan. commander joe price died saturday. he was from potstown, pennsylvania. price was the commanding officer of s.e.a.l. team 4, assisting in the training of afghan police. a military official told cnn

there's no indication price was involved in any investigation or controversy. he is survived by his wife and daughter. ♪ a formal goodbye for the late senator daniel inouye of hawaii. president obama and senate majority leader harry reid were on hand. he represented the state of hawaii for nearly 50 years. the 88-year-old died of respiratory complications last monday. the clock is ticking for all you procrastinators. tomorrow, of course, is christmas eve. francis has more on the last minute shopping frenzy. >> reporter: as santa finishes up his list before his big trip, most americans are headed out to

finish shopping for everyone on their list. >> mom, dad, brother, sister. >> sneakers for my nephew. that's it. i'm done. >> reporter: according to a survey last week, there are millions of shoppers not quite done. 132 million to be exact. 26 million hadn't even started. >> i know who i need to buy for but not what i'm buying yet. >> reporter: many stores, like target, toys r us, and macy's, staid open around the clock this weekend and plan to through christmas eve. >> a lot of people have really challenging work schedules. and people like the convenience. >> reporter: although a poll showed that 17% were planning to spend less this year, retail analysts say sales this holiday season are on track to top $586 billion. >> if we recall black friday did about $11.2 billion in sales.

but they had very strong results compared to last year. retailers are hoping that the consumers will come back and deliver the same strong results. >> reporter: so with only one day left to get it all wrapped up, shoppers are expecting a hectic -- >> try to get good stuff. >> i think it's more fun to do it at the end. >> reporter: but happy holiday eve. >> after three days of searching, some good news to report in the case of a missing loudoun county canine officer. where police found bruno. one of the survivors of the org mall shooting speaks tonight and the moments before the gunman opened fire. and the organization helping thousands of hurricane sandy storm victims who are homeless this holiday.

officials in newtown, connecticut will begin removing tributes of the victims of the mass school shooting. they will pick up the items the day after christmas and the trinket also be ground up and processed into soil and that soil will be used as the foundation to a permanent memorial to the victims. a survivor wounded in a mall shooting earlier this month in portland, oregon is speaking about the moment the gunman opened fire. 15-year-old christina was shot december 11. she was cutting through the mall and says the gunman walked right past her. seconds later she says bullets started flying. she had bullet fragments in her lungs and liver but doctors were

able to save her. >> i know that god has his eyes on us. he has angels on everybody's shoulders, and he's especially watching out for my family. >> she also survived a car accident earlier this year. this will be a difficult christmas for many victims of hurricane sandy, still suffering after two months after the storm. but a relief project organized by a community that's been there before is easing some of the pain. michelle fransend has more on the train of hope. >> reporter: at the amtrak station in new orleans, volunteers from nearby towns hard hit by katrina, are on a mission. organizing and packing up palettes of diapers, shoes and blankets. the second run of donations for hurricane sandy victims. residents and firefighters here paying it forward. >> specifically we were focused on trying to make it better for

the kids up there. >> reporter: in addition to basic supplies this so-called train of hope will be filled with holiday toys, all bound for sandy's smallest victims. 30 hours later, the train rolls into newark, new jersey. 27 palettes in all, half the toys go to the marines toy for tots program. the rest end up here at engine 155 in staten island. children of firefighters, kids who lost everything in sandy's wake, get to pick out brand new gifts. >> we lost a lot. he lost all his toys. so it feels good to be on the receives end. >> especially during the holidays, we know there's a financial strain for parents and we wanted to make sure that the children of the storms were able to celebrate. >> reporter: louisiana organizers partnered with kathleen ryan, a firefighter widow who runs an annual toy drive in her husband, bobby's name. after nd